Remembering the Encores

Oh, Cassius! / Live While We're Young (One Direction Cover) Shut up.  This is awesome.  I have been listening to this for the last hour and a half and am absolutely mesmerized.  

Who: Our Lady Peace with American Hi Fi When: April 30, 2001 Where: University at Buffalo Center for the Arts/ Buffalo, NY With: Chris Of Note: freshman year of college really is the weirdest thing, huh? Being a college freshman is really the weirdest experience - I mean, you live in a shoebox with a person you've never met surrounded by, in my case, alphabetically sorted nerds who are all on their own for the first time and teetering the line between stuDYING and going apeshit crazy. That's where I forged friendships that have lasted 12 years now - over lounge homework parties, break & bake cookies, and my boyfriend the snowman. Anyway, freshman year of college UB brought Our Lady Peace to the Center for the Arts for like $7 or something. It was BIG DEAL to try to get tickets because people in Buffalo LOVE Our Lady Peace. (Perhaps there is something to that whole "being annexed by Ontario" thing?) Somehow, I ended up with tickets (someone had them...

Not necessarily this past week, but some of what I've been listening to lately: fun./ Sight of the Sun I would probably listen to Nate Ruess sing an organic chemistry text book or the ingredients list on cough syrup.  Lucky for me, I don't have to!  This song, originally intended for Some Nights but now appearing on the Girls soundtrack, is just gorgeous and I cannot stop listening to it. Fort Atlantic/ Let Your Heart Hold Fast Yes, I "discovered" it on How I Met Your Mother.  No, that doesn't make it any less of a phenomenal song. The Features/ How It Starts I dare you not to "that's ho-o-ow uh-huh clap clap it sta-a-a-a-arts" along with the chorus.  In fact?  I double dog dare you. One Republic/ Feel Again In fairness, I didn't know it was One Republic. Passion Pit/ Take a Walk I'm sensing a theme of clap-clappiness. Pitch Perfect/ Barden Bellas' & TrebleMakers' Nationals Performa...

Who: Death Cab for Cutie with Low When: April 24, 2012 Where: Kleinhan's Music Hall/ Buffalo, NY With: Christine Of Note: Sitting down at a concert is weird Like all good preppy mcprepsters, I "discovered" Death Cab through the one and only Seth Cohen. The OC's use of 'A Lack of Color' was all I needed to hear to become a casual fan. (Also, my high school friend Andrea used to post their lyrics as AIM away messages all the time.) When I read that they were playing at Kleinhan's - home of the Buffalo Philharmonic - I was intrigued. Why would an an alternative (?) band be playing there instead of Town Ballroom or something? I solicited a partner in crime - Christine - and off we went. The opening band was called Low. Some mid-concert wikipedia-ing determined that they considered themselves a 'slowcore' band. First, what on earth is that? Second, why does it sound like music that is only good for one of two things - getting supe...

2012 was a good year for me, which was nice after 2011's shitshow. I accomplished so many things I wanted to - 15,000 minutes in the gym, 20 books read, increased philanthropy, hitting some financial milestones. I took myself on some amazing adventures - the Eiffel Tower, the West End, Austin City Limits Festival, ending happy hour with a beach bonfire, dressing up like a zombie and not crying at my own reflection, starting a new job that I love. All that, plus I saw some incredible live music. Trying to pick the top five concerts from this past year was hard - top five performances? top five experiences? In the end, I went with the five that now, however many months later, I can still remember exactly how awesome the show made me feel. In no particular order: fun. - April 25, 201 2 "And I really do believe, that if everyone could feel the way I felt driving home that night - exhilarated, alive, in love with life, able to conquer anything - the world would be a mu...

As one of my nephews pointed out, "Aunt Jenny wishes her life was a musical. Of course she loves Christmas songs; it's like a built in soundtrack." (Please note: essentially, nobody calls me Jenny.) Some traditional, some a little further out - this is a collection of some of my favorites.

Phillip Phillips/ Wicked Game So, we know that Chris Isaac's 'Wicked Game' is the sexiest song ever written, right?  And that it could not ever possibly be improved upon?  While not better, per se, this version is AMAZING.  By making a few lyrical adjustments, the story of the song gets completely flipped and I love the DMB/Mumfordesque take on it.  SO GOOD.